Special Resolution: 2019 World Conference against A and H Bombs – Nagasaki

Assembled in Nagasaki, the second A-bombed city following Hiroshima, we call on all national governments in the world to take action, by abolishing nuclear weapons at the earliest possible date, to save the human race from the danger of annihilation.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki evidenced what catastrophic and inhumane consequences the use of nuclear weapons causes. In the pain and desperation of a “hell on earth”, some 210,000 people had lost their lives by the end of 1945. The Hibakusha who barely survived later suffered from delayed effects, social prejudice and discrimination. Their offspring continue to live in anxiety about possible genetic effects of radiation.

The use of such weapons, which deny the very basis of human dignity, cannot be justified for any reason whatsoever. Whether or not we face the inhumanity of nuclear weapons and make a major step toward their prohibition and elimination depends on the responsibility of policymakers and their conscience and rational faculty as humans.

The overwhelming majority of the States parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) have pledged to renounce the possession of nuclear weapons and they abide by the Treaty. They do so because this treaty obligates nuclear disarmament negotiations leading to the elimination of nuclear weapons. The breach of the pledge and past agreements on the elimination of nuclear weapons by the nuclear-armed states, on the ground of their own “national security”, is an act of betrayal and can never be accepted.

If, at the same time as regional conflicts are being militarized, the nuclear superpowers continue to scrap the restrictions they have placed on themselves and to compete in reinforcing their nuclear arsenals, as seen in the expiry of the INF treaty, the danger of a nuclear catastrophe will become even greater. There is no such thing as security guaranteed by nuclear weapons.

As directed by the first resolution of the UNGA, the elimination of nuclear weapons is the starting point of the post-WWII international politics. We appeal to all national governments to remember the warnings of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and their Hibakusha and take the following actions to save the human race from nuclear catastrophe:

  • To immediately stop the reinforcement of nuclear forces, preparations for the use of nuclear weapons and other actions that run counter to disarmament;
  • To fulfill the obligation under Article 6 of the NPT to negotiate on nuclear disarmament; To implement and bring into concrete actions the agreements reached at the previous NPT Review Conferences, including, above all, the “unequivocal undertaking” to achieve the “complete elimination of nuclear weapons (agreed in 2000), and the “special effort to establish a framework” (agreed in 2010).
  • To actively promote such activities that enlighten people on the inhumane nature of nuclear weapons; To support and give assistance to the Hibakusha and civil society movement that are working to this end, especially their efforts timed for the 2020 NPT Review Conference.
  • To sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons without delay. Those governments which have already done so are to further promote international cooperation for the entry into force of the treaty, according to the spirit of the Treaty (Article 12).

The cooperation between national governments and civil society is essential to resolve all current global issues. To achieve a “world without nuclear weapons”, we remain committed and work in close cooperation with you.

2019 World Conference against A and H Bombs – Nagasaki